NBA Players Making Strong Bids To Be First-Time All-Stars

What do Jeremy Lin and James Harden have in common? They will both be NBA All-Stars for the first time in 2013.

The global sensation and the Sixth Man of the Year are veritable shoo-ins at this point in the season. What’s more, in one of those typical sports coincidences, both will be holding it down on their new home court.

They’re not the only ones who will be making their All-Star Game debut. So many more will just miss their first opportunity.

The problem is, there’s so much talent, but oh so little roster room: only 12 players a team, 24 altogether.

Many of those slots are already taken: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Chris Bosh and Tim Duncan are virtual guarantees. That’s more than half the roster.

Depending on injury, you have Steve Nash, Andrew Bynum, Kevin Love and Dirk Nowitzki, too.

For the sake of this slideshow, we'll assume those 18 players will be making repeat appearances, leaving six open slots. How many of those will be taken by first-timers?

It won’t be all six, for sure, but let’s take a look at the six players who have the best shot at making their first All-Star cut.

Stats are through Thanksgiving Day.

The Field

The NBA released the 2013 All-Star Game ballot a week ago. Fan voting will select the 10 starters. The East and West head coaches will select the 14 bench players.

There are 120 players to choose from, 60 from each conference, “with 36 frontcourt and 24 guards from each conference comprising the list. Voters select three frontcourt and two guards from each conference.”

Of the 120, 77 will be looking to make a name for themselves with their first All-Star berth.

Here are those 77, listed last name first. Not easy to whittle this down to six spots.

Then again, there are still three months to go before the mid-February All-Star Weekend. Maybe some of those “virtual” guarantees won’t make it after all, opening up the East and West rosters for newbies and veterans alike. We’ll look at those bubble players on the final slide.

EAST
Afflalo Arron, Orlando	Backcourt
Calderon Jose, Toronto	Backcourt
DeRozan DeMar, Toronto	Backcourt
Ellis Monta, Milwaukee	Backcourt
Felton Raymond, New York	Backcourt
George Paul, Indiana	Backcourt
Henderson Gerald, Charlotte	Backcourt
Hill George, Indiana	Backcourt
Hinrich Kirk, Chicago	Backcourt
Holiday Jrue, Philadelphia	Backcourt
Irving Kyrie, Cleveland	Backcourt
Jennings Brandon, Milwaukee	Backcourt
Knight Brandon, Detroit	Backcourt
Lowry Kyle, Toronto	Backcourt
Stuckey Rodney, Detroit	Backcourt
Teague Jeff, Atlanta	Backcourt
Terry Jason, Boston	Backcourt
Walker Kemba, Charlotte	Backcourt
Wall John, Washington	Backcourt
Bargnani Andrea, Toronto	Frontcourt
Battier Shane, Miami	Frontcourt
Casspi Omri, Cleveland	Frontcourt
Chandler Tyson, New York	Frontcourt
Dalembert Samuel, Milwaukee	Frontcourt
Davis Glen, Orlando	Frontcourt
Gibson Taj, Chicago	Frontcourt
Green Jeff, Boston	Frontcourt
Harrington Al, Orlando	Frontcourt
Hawes Spencer, Philadelphia	Frontcourt
Humphries Kris, Brooklyn	Frontcourt
Ilyasova Ersan, Milwaukee	Frontcourt
Lopez Brook, Brooklyn	Frontcourt
Monroe Greg, Detroit	Frontcourt
Mullens Byron, Charlotte	Frontcourt
Nene, Washington	Frontcourt
Noah Joakim, Chicago	Frontcourt
Okafor Emeka, Washington	Frontcourt
Prince Tayshaun, Detroit	Frontcourt
Smith Josh, Atlanta	Frontcourt
Varejao Anderson, Cleveland	Frontcourt
Young Thaddeus, Philadelphia	Frontcourt
WEST
Allen Tony, Memphis	Backcourt
Collison Darren, Dallas	Backcourt
Conley Mike, Memphis	Backcourt
Curry Stephen, Golden State	Backcourt
Dragic Goran, Phoenix	Backcourt
Evans Tyreke, Sacramento	Backcourt
Gordon Eric, New Orleans	Backcourt
Harden James, Houston	Backcourt
Lawson Ty, Denver	Backcourt
Lin Jeremy, Houston	Backcourt
Martin Kevin, Oklahoma City	Backcourt
Matthews, Wesley, Portland	Backcourt
Mayo O.J., Dallas	Backcourt
Miller Andre, Denver	Backcourt
Rubio Ricky, Minnesota	Backcourt
Thompson Klay, Golden State	Backcourt
Thornton Marcus, Sacramento	Backcourt
Anderson Ryan, New Orleans	Frontcourt
Asik Omer, Houston	Frontcourt
Batum Nicolas, Portland	Frontcourt
Bogut Andrew, Golden State	Frontcourt
Cousins DeMarcus, Sacramento	Frontcourt
Davis Anthony, New Orleans	Frontcourt
Faried Kenneth, Denver	Frontcourt
Favors Derrick, Utah	Frontcourt
Gallinari Danilo, Denver	Frontcourt
Gay Rudy, Memphis	Frontcourt
Gortat Marcin, Phoenix	Frontcourt
Ibaka Serge, Oklahoma City	Frontcourt
Jefferson Al, Utah	Frontcourt
Leonard Kawhi, San Antonio	Frontcourt
Millsap Paul, Utah	Frontcourt
Parsons Chandler, Houston	Frontcourt
Pekovic Nikola, Minnesota	Frontcourt
Perkins Kendrick, Oklahoma City	Frontcourt
Scola Luis, Phoenix	Frontcourt

Photo: O.J. Mayo of the Dallas Mavericks

Jeremy Lin, Houston Rockets

Whether he deserves it statistically, Jeremy Lin will be a Western Conference All-Star. He might even start.

That’s thanks to the increasingly global nature of All-Star voting, enhanced this year with additional social media access.

Now, fans can vote via Twitter, Facebook and Chinese portals Weibo and Tencent QQ. Tencent QQ is the ninth-most-visited website in the world, with up to 145 million users online at any one time.

Couple that with the Asian-American vote (which made Yao Ming a starter when he was already shelved for the 2010-11 season), the Houston vote (fourth-largest city in the U.S.) and very likely the holdover New York vote (why not?), and game over. Lin is an All-Star.

Lin is putting up a more-than-capable line this season, though not Linsanity numbers, per se. Still, the excitement he brings to the game, the following and his 10 points, six assists and two steals per game merit a spot.

James Harden, Houston Rockets

James Harden is off the hook.

Harden is making his 2011-12 sixth-man season look like an off year. All of his important numbers are up this season—points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks.

He’s averaging nearly 25 points a game, including 45- and 37-point outings, and has upped his defense, too.

Harden’s play in 2012-13 has been characterized by USA Today as “unstoppable” and “absurd.” Yahoo! has said he's possibly a member of “the NBA’s best backcourt.”

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls

Joakim Noah is having the best season of his career, picking up the slack for a “struggling” Chicago Bulls team minus Derrick Rose.

Noah leads the Bulls in rebounds, steals and blocks and isn’t far off in points and assists, showing an all-around game (and determination) worthy of an All-Star nod this year.

Former Chicago Bulls coach and current L.A. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro agrees. He told ESPN: “He deserves it…I thought he was close last season or so; Jo definitely deserves it. Statistically, energy at that position.”

Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

For Kyrie Irving, the 2011 draft's No. 1 pick and 2012 Rookie of the Year, the best is yet to come, starting with the 2013 All-Star Game.

Despite being a rookie last year, CBS Sports considered Irving’s absence from the 2012 All-Star Game one of “the five biggest All-Star snubs” of the year.

And Irving was having an even better sophomore campaign, averaging 22.9 points per game, before fracturing a finger that will sideline him for four weeks.

There’ll be enough time for Irving to pick up his game and get voted in. He’s popular, too, due partly to advertising campaigns such as this.

Anderson Varejao, Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers stink again, posting a 3-8 record as of Thanksgiving Day. That will make it hard for two Cavs to make the East team.

Competition among the power forwards for the three available frontcourt slots will also make it challenging for a dark horse like the Anderson Varejao to make the All-Star squad. But he deserves a spot.

The ninth-year “center” is having his best season, averaging 14 points and an outrageous 14 rebounds a game.

Varejao is leading the league in efficiency, is second in total rebounds and has six double-doubles in 10 games.

Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks

It will be close here between Brandon Jennings and Jrue Holiday. Perhaps they can both make it.

But between the two, even though Holiday is tearing it up in Philly, I’m going to give the edge to Jennings for two reasons.

First, defense. Jennings is a monster. He already has the offense, though it’s a notch below Holiday’s. But his defense is ridiculous. He’s leading the league in steals by almost a full takeaway (an insane 3.3 a game).

Second, Jennings' impact on the Milwaukee Bucks.The Bucks are leading the Central and making a bid to be the surprise seed of the Eastern Conference.

Jennings has been on the All-Star bubble the last couple years. Now’s his time.

Honorable Mentions

Any of these guys might find their way off the bubble and into their first All-Star Game, depending on how the next few months go.

Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers (18.4 PPG, 8.6 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.6 SPG)

Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats (18.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.7 RPG, 2.4 SPG)

Tyson Chandler (New York vote might help. One of best defending centers in the game.)

Monta Ellis, Milwaukee Bucks (20.2 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.1 RPG, 1.3 SPG)

O.J. Mayo, Dallas Mavericks (22.2 PPG. Most three-pointers in NBA)

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (19.3 PPG, 5.7 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG)

DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings (16.6 PPG, 2.0 APG, 10.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG)

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